Bright Lights, Big Ass

Do you dream that city life is all about stilettos and cocktail hours? Jen Lancaster says think again. All illusions about city dwelling are gone in her new book, ?Bright Lights, Big Ass’. No longer living her fabulous penthouse-style ways Lancaster looks at life in a new light. Now she is more like the rest of us with her pajama-clad days, house hunting weekends, and her tireless search for the perfect temporary job. Lancaster is witty and charming in this latest memoir. Her usual no-holds barred approach to her days shines through on each page. The short stories and blurbs about menacing squirrels, mass-transit debacles, and her love for all things Target are easily relatable. ?Bright Lights’ is sharp and fun. Lancaster dishes out the sarcasm continuously as she writes about her first year as a published author.

This second book by Lancaster deals more with the everyday life of the author unlike debut novel ?Bitter’ which chronicled her downward spiral into unemployment and eviction. One feels excited for her as she describes the joy at seeing her first published book sitting on a bookstore shelf. She notes with dismay that her everyday world ceases to change despite brisk book sales. A book deal does not equal carte blanche on expensive shoes. For Jen it means finding temporary office work to pay the bills. She still can’t get her landlord to repair her leaky kitchen ceiling and her husband, Fletch, is obsessed with Rachel Ray. She dispels the Carrie Bradshaw type myth that it is all fun and drinks in the city and more akin to parking tickets and trips to Trader Joe’s grocery store. Lancaster’s second book reads just like her popular blog, Jennslyvania. In fact, many of its pages come directly from her daily posts making it a quick, easy, and laugh out loud summer read.

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